AfOx digital insaka with Prof. Workineh Kelbessa and Dr Stephen B. Kennedy

Join our next insaka on Friday 4th March at 5pm UK time. 

Speakers for this insaka are:

• Professor Workineh Kelbessa : African Environmental Philosophy and Sustainable Development.

• Dr Stephen B. Kennedy : Genomic Research in Liberia: Challenges, Implications & Future Directions

Professor Workineh Kelbessa will discuss the nature of African environmental philosophy and its contribution to sustainable development and environmental protection in Africa. He will defend the view that when properly understood, formally adopted and fully exploited, the African environmental philosophy can very well contribute to the attainment of sustainable development in Africa.

Dr. Kennedy will discuss Genomic Research in Liberia: Challenges, Implications & Future Directions. The Public Health Emergencies (PHEs) in the sub-region resulted in exponential increment in clinical research, including clinical trials. These clinical trials have requested and subsequently utilized biological samples for diverse scientific justifications. However, is Liberia prepared for genomic-based research? A cross-sectional study was conducted, after ethical approval for the waiver of informed consents, to determine the readiness of the scientific, regulatory and ethical communities for conducting genomic-based research in Liberia. One hundred twenty-seven (127) self-administered pencil and paper and online surveys were completed, based on purposive sampling, by researchers, ethicists, regulators, data managers, and health policy makers across the public and private research-intensive institutions and organizations, including members of the ethics and regulatory bodies. The findings clearly demonstrated that Liberia lacks the basic infrastructure, standard operating procedures (SoPs) and guidelines, and human resource capacity to conduct genomic-based research in the country. The findings have implications for the development of programs and policies to strengthen the pathway for conducting genomic-based research, especially with Liberia being suited within the emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) belt in the sub-region. Lastly, there is a need to conduct more rigorous studies to better understand the facilitators and barriers to conducting genomic-based research in Liberia.